Local daycare raises $100,000 for St. Jude

ClarksvilleNow.com Reporting
news@clarksvillenow.com

CLARKSVILLE, TN – Clarksville’s Little Country Schoolhouse has officially reached the $100,000 mark in the amount of money they have raised for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital over the past fourteen years.

The bulk of the donations are collected through the St. Jude Trike-A-Thon that LCSH hosts every April. The official website for the hospital describes the event as “a great way for daycare centers, preschools, and other organizations to teach children valuable riding-toy safety lessons.” During the week-long event, kids learn safety through materials provided by St. Jude as their family and friends sponsor them. On the last day they bring their riding toys to the daycare and practice their new skills.

Along with the Trike-A-Thon, Little Country Schoolhouse also hosts other fundraising events during the spring months. Profits from their silent auction, family bingo night, and teacher bake sale are sent directly to St. Jude. Items for the silent auction are donated by local companies, while food provided by Zaxby’s and Dominos is sold at bingo night.

Elizabeth Fowler, Quality Assurance Director for the local daycare, volunteered to take charge of their fundraising when she joined the LCSH team nine years ago. The group had already raised around $3,500 for the charity at that time. She and Kelly Chance, Administrative Director for Little Country Schoolhouse, were recently invited to visit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. Fowler said the trip was “absolutely amazing” and they “learned so much about the hospital” as they met children and their families in what she called an “environment of hope.”

The two women returned to work July 15, and shared their experience with the school age children of LCSH, who were so excited that they raised $167 in less than a week.

Fowler said that in the future, the daycare hopes to increase their efforts with a Clarksville marathon to include parents and the community and “put Clarksville on the map” in fundraising for St. Jude.